MATTHAU AS EX-AGENT IN FUN CIA CAPER

Hopscotch (8 p.m., WPEC-Ch. 12), a 1980 movie adapted from a Brian Garfield caper novel, was one of the few movies of its year that was made for adults, yet wasn't filled with violence. Instead, this imaginative satire follows a disgruntled ex-CIA agent (Walter Matthau), who is writing a tell-all book about the agency, as his former bosses chase him all over the globe. He enlists the help of an old flame, played by Glenda Jackson. Herbert Lom plays a KGB spy. Sam Waterston is a young CIA operative who sides with Matthau, and Ned Beatty is Matthau's slimy former boss. It's all very engagingly done -- the cast is clearly having a grand time -- and Garfield's participation behind the camera assures a more faithful adaptation than occurred when some of his other novels (notably Death Wish) were adapted.